sparingly, often for issues of great importance like civil rights. but as the tool has become a regular tool of political warfare, scrutiny of the procedure has increased and questions raised about its impact on the chamber. now, reid and other senate democrats want to change the rules to eliminate the 60-vote threshold needed to formally begin debate on a bill; and require a "talking filibuster," forcing senators to make their case on the floor for hours and hours, like jimmy stewart did in the 1939 film "mr. smith goes to washington." >> i'm not, and i'm going to stay right here and fight for this lost cause. >> holman: or former south carolina senator strom thurmond, who spoke for over 24 hours in an attempt to defeat the civil rights act of 1957. but in today's senate, where 60 votes are needed to pass almost any piece of legislation, it means even the threat of a filibuster can gum up the process. democratic leader harry reid says enough is enough. >> we have this crazy idea, mr. president, that if we're going to have a filibuster, you have to s